A Toiling Darkness Read Online Free

thought keeping me grounded was the fact that
he thought he actually had a chance at killing me and that was
pretty damn funny. As if. My long life taught me enough tricks to
survive, and I wasn’t going to let a man who couldn’t even see past
my appearance ruin that. Besides, I wasn't killable in the first
place. At least no one knows how to kill me, not even me.
    My anger guided me through the maze of the
city and to an abandoned warehouse refurnished into a bar
specifically for anyone who wasn’t quite human. Normally, I would
let the pulse of the city calm me with its constant chatter, but
now all I could think about was the impending danger closing in on
me. Someone out there finally made a move against me and I needed
to figure out who. Otherwise, I was going to have pesky bugs
looking for me and I’ve been enjoying the peace I’ve found. I
needed to end this before things escalated.
    The bar was the perfect place to start.
Beings came here to be who they are without the scrutiny of human
eyes. They could let go of their human form and just be themselves,
and at this particular place, they could do this without getting
into a fight. Rheems City’s very own Switzerland. No humans
allowed. No conflict either.
    If a human approached, they would fall under
the effects of a defensive ward that sends them away. They would
get a sudden urge to want to go the club a couple blocks down the
road and they would too, as long as no beings caught them outside
the bar and they became a late night snack. That’s only happened a
couple of times since I moved into this city.
    The bar itself was old fashioned, looking
just like a tavern in the Middle Ages. Everything was made out of
expensive wood like the cherry wood chairs, mahogany tables, and
the bar counter made of teak. All the shelves holding the liquor
were made out of some kind of white wood. Nothing was made out of
metal to avoid allergies. Almost forty percent of the population
was allergic to some kind of metal and the owner made sure they
could come here and not worry about it.
    The moment a being came into the bar, they
were expected to conduct themselves properly and respect the
owner’s number one rule of ‘No Fighting.’ If they broke the rule,
they had to deal with the owner who was also the bartender—a wispy
man whose existence was a little questionable. His presence was
strong but sometimes it seemed like he was fading away.
    When I walked in, the bar went a couple
shades darker and completely quiet as every patron took in my
presence. The place wasn’t very busy yet with only a few beings
scattered around, all eyes on me as they watched for my mood. I
scowled and everyone looked away except for a leggy blonde who was
sitting with an older gentleman.
    Her eyes were big and dark, twinkling with
secrets, and right now were filled with disbelief as she stood up.
Her magic was kept tight around her, the only thing it was telling
me was that she was a witch. The older man who was yanking on her
arm was probably her mentor. The man pulled on her until she sat
back down and whispered something into her ear. A warning if
nothing else. A warning against me.
    Everyone here knew me as Darkness, but they
didn’t realize what that really entailed. They just knew I was
something big and badass, despite my size. I went to great lengths
to make sure they thought this way. Only one person in the city
knew who I truly was and Kay was good at keeping his mouth shut. He
owed me at least that much. Others could guess or speculate, maybe
even approach me to try and verify it—at least until I put them in
their place. I wasn’t anyone’s prey.
    I ignored their harsh whispers and made my
way to the bar. I don’t tolerate ignorance very well. When I first
moved here a couple months ago, only two days passed before word
got around to not mess around with me and the teasing stopped. A
being who looked like a seven foot tall hairy bison tried to pit
his strength against my